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Post offices shovel blizzard of presents
By Times staff writers NEW PORT RICHEY -- Michelle Miller, nine months' pregnant, was the last person in line at the Embassy Plaza Post Office on Monday morning. Thirty-nine other people were ahead of her, but it wasn't the 45-minute wait that had the expectant mom's knees knocked. Her concern was more practical: Where's the restroom? Due in five days, she and her mom, Claire Miller, had already mailed most of their gifts and cards. Monday's trip was the final batch: Grandma's sweater and a couple of Applebee's gift certificates for other family members in Long Island, N.Y. "You just have to take a deep breath and relax," Claire Miller said of the line of customers snaking around the lobby. "You have to have a happy attitude." And strong feet. "I actually don't mind standing," said Michelle Miller, rubbing her bulging belly. "It's really hard for me to breathe lying down." The Millers were among scores of gift-givers out to mail off holiday packages Monday, the busiest day of the year for the U.S. Postal Service. Post offices nationwide took in an estimated 850-million pieces of mail Monday, and much of it will arrive on doorsteps Wednesday, the busiest delivery day of the year, said postal spokesman Gary Sawtelle. Lines were long at privately owned shipping centers, too. By 2 p.m., Corbie Pecora had already helped customers send out 96 packages at PakMail in Regency Plaza. That number, he said, didn't include the dozens more that went out with the regular Postal Service, and all the packages shipped via air. "We've had lines all day, right out the door," Pecora said. Pecora said PakMail can still get most packages to their destinations by Christmas, but time is running out. "If they mail it (today), it should get there, but if they're sending it far, like to California, they're pushing it," he said. Back at the Embassy Plaza Post Office, Kimberly Vaughn said "no way" to the line. She took her three packages to the electronic scale near the stamp machines. Ten minutes and $15 in self-stick stamps later, and her packages, filled with ornaments, gift certificates and handmade jewelry, were on their way to Washington and Tennessee. Vaughn, meanwhile, was headed back to work. Sawtelle had some tips for people headed off to the post office. First, get your ZIP codes ahead of time. If you're unsure of the ZIP code, you can get it online at www.usps.com. Second, Sawtelle suggested senders put their names and addresses on a slip of paper inside their packages, as well as on the outside. That way, if the outside addresses get torn or smeared, postal workers will, at least, be able to return the goodies. Foot traffic was steady in Land O'Lakes, too. Postmaster William Ragan kept all three counters open, altered his collectible stamp kiosk to accept Christmas parcels and assigned an employee to help people with packages as they struggled through the door. Ragan said Monday was the busiest day of the holiday mailing season: "Everybody had all weekend long to wrap their stuff up." Postal workers in Dade City were similarly busy, but not overwhelmed, said Postmaster Jeff Alston. Four windows were open through the day, with a line about 10 deep. Despite the influx of packages bound for all parts of the country, the line moved quickly. Even Valerie Pease, who showed up with presents wrapped in Christmas paper -- but no box to ship them in -- got in and out in less than 15 minutes. Standing in line, Pease eyed the available boxes for sale hanging from the post office wall. "I'm looking at these boxes, and I don't think they're big enough," she said. Postal clerk Russell Thomas had her gifts safely tucked into the white boxes and bound for Seattle in minutes. Along with the usual stash of toys for the grandchildren in Willow Brook, Ill., Sharon Cathcart included a holiday gift for her son: boxer shorts. "It's a tradition," she explained. "When you're a mom, you can get away with that." -- Staff writers Kent Fischer, Chase Squires and Jim Thorner contributed to this report.
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